Mental wellbeing and what actually helps
Mental health is not the absence of difficult feelings. It is having enough support and strategy that difficult feelings pass through rather than settle in.
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Understand mental wellbeing, common difficulties and how to seek help
Key learning points
- • Common difficulties
- • What helps, reliably
- • Asking for help
This lesson at a glance
- 20 minutes
- 20 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 20
Visual introductionPicture this
Mental wellbeing and what actually helps
Mental health is not the absence of difficult feelings. It is having enough support and strategy that difficult feelings pass through rather than settle in.
In a nutshell
Understand mental wellbeing, common difficulties and how to seek help
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 20
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Common difficulties
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 20
Learn
Common difficulties
Anxiety, low mood and stress are common in adolescence. They become a concern when they last for weeks, get worse, or stop you doing things you would normally do. That is a threshold worth remembering, because it replaces guessing whether a feeling is 'bad enough'.
Reset break
Part 4 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 5 of 20
Learn
What helps, reliably
Sleep, movement, daylight, contact with people, and doing something that occupies your hands or attention. Talking to one person you trust does more than most things. Avoidance gives quick relief and usually grows the problem.
Quick check
Part 6 of 20
Quick check
Part 7 of 20
Reset break
Part 8 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 9 of 20
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · Asking for help
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 10 of 20
Learn
Asking for help
Start with a trusted adult: a parent, carer, tutor or school nurse. A GP can refer to services. Childline, YoungMinds and Shout offer confidential support. Being asked 'are you safe?' is a routine question, not an accusation.
Quick check
Part 11 of 20
Reset break
Part 12 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 13 of 20
Explore the idea
Part 14 of 20
Worked example
Worked example: naming it out loud
Instead of 'I'm fine', a usable sentence is: 'For the last three weeks I've been dreading mornings and I've stopped going to football.' It gives duration, feeling and impact — three things an adult needs to help, and it removes the need to diagnose yourself before you speak.
Challenge round
Part 15 of 20
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Reset break
Part 16 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 4 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 17 of 20
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
Anxiety, low mood and stress are ____ in adolescence.
Challenge round
Part 18 of 20
Game · Recall cards
When is a difficult feeling worth raising?
Card 1 of 4
Mastery quiz
Part 19 of 20
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Mental wellbeing and what actually helps
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. When is a difficult feeling worth raising?
2. Which reliably helps wellbeing?
3. What does avoidance usually do?
4. What makes a good opening sentence when asking for help?
Lesson round-up
Part 20 of 20
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
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Games
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Points this lesson
0
Best run
0 in a row
Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaPart 1 of 20 · Watch & discover